Frequently Asked Questions about SIF
| SIF is not a product but rather an industry–supported, Service–Oriented Architecture (SOA) that defines a common language for representing data in schools. SIF presents a reliable, secure, consistent—and proven—Web services protocol for exchanging data automatically among pK–12 software systems.
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Still have questions? We have the answers!
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How does SIF work?
| View our flash movie—we illustrate how the powerful SIF architecture enables seamless, secure data exchange between software applications, saving schools time, money and administrative headaches. | | |
How do I know if my applications are SIF-enabled?
| Visit the SIF Certification website. Applications that are currently SIF–enabled (via certified SIF agents) are listed here. | | |
What is a SIF Agent?
| A SIF agent is software that serves as a “middleman” between the pK–12 software applications (and the data associated with those applications) and the world of SIF. You might think of a SIF agent as a translator helping two people—who speak different languages— carry on a conversation. As a tightly integrated component to the application, a SIF agent communicates by sending messages (containing data objects, such as student or library circulation records) to the Zone Integration Server (or ZIS) in the universally–understood format of SIF. | | |
What is a Zone Integration Server?
| A Zone Integration Server (or ZIS) is the central messaging component of SIF, dispatching messages between the various SIF–enabled applications (via the SIF agents) in your district, IU or state. For example, when a change is made in a student record, the SIF agent that reports the change does not need to know anything about the other applications, how they work, or how they're configured. The message is simply delivered to the Zone Integration Server, which takes care of broadcasting it to subscribing applications. | | |
I have applications that are not SIF-enabled. What do I do?
| Get in touch with the application vendor and ask them when their SIF Agent will be ready. Many application vendors are in the process of building SIF agents and can tell you when they expect to deliver their SIF agent. If your application vendor does not yet have a SIF strategy in place, they need to hear from you! | | |
Isn't SIF just a big database?
| No. While the SIF architecture enables seamless, secure data exchange, it is—first and foremost—a sophisticated Service–Oriented Architecture for sharing school data. SIF models common types of data used in school applications and specifies a Web services choreography for sharing data among the applications in a district, IU or state. The SIF architecture is comprised of SIF Agents for each application, and a Zone Integration Server—such as the SIFWorks Enterprise ZIS—through which all applications can talk to one another. A central database is not necessary and is not part of the SIF architecture. | | |
What kinds of data can be shared by SIF applications?
| The current SIF specification defines over 3,600 complex elements, 1,500 repeatable elements, 7,000 simple elements, 890 attributes, and 118 objects that can be shared among SIF–enabled applications! Further, the SIF specification takes full advantage of rich XML structures, a feature that other “flattened” schemes can't or don't exploit. | | |
| SIF is an ever–evolving standard, thus the data model continues to expand and infrastructure improvements are added. Please visit SIFInfo.org and download the current version of the specification to review the most current list of supported objects and elements. | | |
You mention a SIF agents that are “tightly integrated” with the software application. What about a “universal agent?”
| A “universal agent” may be a practical solution for providing SIF connectivity with legacy products and data sources where a tightly–integrated SIF agent is not possible. However, the functionality of the agent is limited (e.g., events are not generated or processed in real time and application business logic is not integrated with the agent). Further, ongoing functionality is not assured—maintenance of the agent is the responsibility of the user, not the application vendor—which means your agent may not function properly when version updates are made in the application. | | |
| A tightly integrated SIF agent communicates (reads and writes and is event driven) with the data source using the native application. More importantly, it integrates with the business logic of the application, providing full functionality. And, because the application vendor generally maintains or closely oversees the maintenance of the agent, users are assured that any application updates are compatible with the SIF agent. | | |
| Still have questions? Contact Edustructures at 877–790–1261 or info@edustructures.com. | | |
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